As part of plans to grant media practitioners unhindered access to first-hand information and enable them cross check their facts before going to press, the Niger State Government on Monday created an Investigative Centre.
Disclosing this to journalists in his office, the Commissioner for Information, Culture and Tourism, Jonathan Tsado Vatsa, said it has become necessary in view of the emerging trends of news gathering and reporting in a digital age.
Atsa said: “It will be known as the new Centre for Investigative Journalism and will be situated in the Planning, Research and Statistics Department of Ministry of Information, Culture and Tourism.
“This is in line with best practices of objectivity as clamoured by the Governor Abubakar Sani Bello-led government in ensuring that journalists investigate and balance their stories before publication.”
Vatsa said that the newly created Centre would give journalists in the State unhindered access to first-hand information and enable them cross check their facts before going to press, because according to him, this pleasant development would ensure accurate and rich-in-contents reportage.
Vatsa added that two special GSM numbers would be made available for journalists and members of the general public to access in the event of any enquiry on issues requiring immediate response.
He called on all media practitioners and information officers and seekers to take advantage of the new Centre and equip themselves with the right information from the right source so that they could also feed members of the public with the right informations.
He therefore, appealed to all working journalists and indeed members of the general public to regard this Centre as a welcome development that would put an end to rumour-mongering and misinformation.
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